Honorees speak during Rotary’s Women of Action event at the White House 7 October. Photo by Alyce Henson/Rotary International

By Adam Ross, Web Content Manager for Rotary.org

When I lost my state identification card while writing about Rotary’s Women of Action event at the White House on Tuesday, I didn’t have to panic by myself. A Rotarian was there to aid and comfort me.

I’m not surprised, but I’m thankful. Thankful we found my ID together so I could fly home to my family, and thankful to have made a new friend.

I had never been on the White House campus before, but the site was far less impressive than our Rotarians. Ten of them were honored as Rotary’s Women of Action, and they gracefully shared their stories. There are too many amazing projects to write about here, but we documented them on Rotary.org.

I will mention there were points in the program where Rotary staff was nearly moved to tears, myself included. For the victims of terrible tragedies and injustices, and for the Rotarians who sacrifice so much to fight for them. It’s easy to talk about change, far harder to organize change. These women do, and they do it in ground zeros around the world.

And that’s why they earned the right to take their messages to the nation’s capital. It meant a great deal for many of them to be there. Honoree Ginger Vann told me “it still hasn’t sunk in that I’m standing here. I’m still blown away… I told all my Rotarians this is for us.”

“I had my governor call Rotary twice just to confirm it was real,” Carolyn Jones said shortly before delivering her presentation. “I know there are so many women around the U.S. that could be here today and still not quite sure how I got to be among the lucky ten, but I accept.”

Jane Winning shared her fellow honorees appreciation for the recognition; “It’s kind of unbelievable that I would even be considered for what I do in this realm. I was totally surprised. I don’t see what I do to be totally sensational, I feel like I’ve been given a gift in being a nurse.”

While they were honored to be recognized, I was honored to be talking with them. They are an inspiration to us all. Rotarians, thank you for all you do, and congratulations on your accomplishments. The future is endlessly bright.

• Read more about Rotary’s Women of Action event
• Learn about the work Rotary members do around the world
• Sponsor a project on Rotary Ideas